Acquisition makes Cypress a leading IoT supplier

Cypress now offers WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee IoT product lines, along with supporting intellectual property and the WICED brand SDK, developer ecosystem and community. These technologies, combined with Cypress’s existing MCU, PSoC programmable SoC, analogue and memory products, provide customers with complete solutions for connected embedded systems in its key automotive and industrial markets. The low-power products also position Cypress as a leader in the high-growth consumer IoT market, a segment that includes wearable electronics and home automation solutions. 

“The world’s leading innovators across the automotive, industrial and consumer markets are looking to connect their products, and starting today with the close of this acquisition, Cypress is now an IoT leader that can offer customers the industry’s most advanced wireless radios and the ability to design products and get to market faster with the support of our WICED SDK and developer ecosystem,” said Badri Kothandaraman, Executive Vice President of Cypress’s Data Communications Division, which now includes the IoT Business Unit. “We are making world-class wireless radio technology used by top device manufacturers available to our broad, global customer base, adding to the versatility of our existing embedded solutions portfolio.”

“When it comes to supporting customers in the fast-growing IoT market, there is no one-size-fits-all approach; you need a scalable platform that allows for innovation,” said Stephen DiFranco, Senior Vice President of the IoT Business Unit at Cypress and former General Manager of Broadcom IoT. “WICED delivers a uniquely scalable ecosystem of module makers, value-added resellers, technology partners and ODMs to developers, along with the ability to quickly customise solutions for everything from connected cars to industrial automation equipment to wearables to smart home appliances. With Cypress’s established track record as a supplier of MCUs, memories and PMICs in the various segments these products represent, we are excited by the significant cross-selling opportunities now open to us.” 

Technology Roadmap and Radio Integration
The Cypress wireless radio portfolio includes products based on advanced 40nm process technology, and the company is developing next-gen products on smaller, ultra-low-power technology nodes. This technology enables unparalleled integration of multiple radios that will allow Cypress to expand its wireless combinations, including its WiFi and Bluetooth offerings that are ideal for a broad range of IoT products.

“Our multi-protocol WiFi and Bluetooth products provide exceptional system value to our customers,” added Kothandaraman. “We will continue to expand these offerings, and we will also look at ways to integrate our radios with our ARM-based PSoC programmable system-on-chip and MCU solutions, building on the success of our PSoC 4 BLE chips and EZ-BLE modules.”

Driving Connected Cars
Cypress now holds a leadership position in connected cars with more than a decade of delivering industry firsts, including the first Bluetooth and first WiFi in vehicles. The Cypress portfolio is now the first to offer Wi-Fi-Bluetooth combinations to upgrade legacy Bluetooth audio with Internet connectivity, and it includes the first simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11ac radios.

“Our robust automotive-grade wireless portfolio is transforming the connected car experience by powering simultaneous usage of multiple displays and media sharing,” added DiFranco. “In addition to Internet connectivity, our radios fit right in with Cypress’s Traveo automotive MCUs and high-performance flash memories that enable firmware over-the-air updates, which greatly reduce implementation costs and save car owners a trip to a dealership mechanic.”